Conquering the Philippines through taste and travel

National Food meets Ilonggo Comfort Food

The last time I checked, mango is our national fruit, bangus is our national fish and lechon is still the Philippines’ national food. And as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog entry, one of Ilonggo’s iconic culinary contribution to our Filipino cuisine is their La Paz Batchoy. While the batchoy is an original dish from Iloilo, Bacolod and the rest of the Ilonggo speaking region of the Visayas share the same pride in all their delectable regional creations. This week’s entry would like to concentrate on a unique Bacolodnon take on the Batchoy by one of their iconic restaurants – Pendy‘s.Pendy’s Restaurant is one of the most recommended gastronomic destinations by locals and tourists alike. While they are well known for their sweets such as the Napoleones and “Half Moon“, I cannot miss on what they call “Batchon” – a fusion of the Batchoy and Lechon. For Php.220 a serving, the price is relatively expensive compared with the usual batchoy. But then again this restaurant is not your usual and ordinary food destination as they also offer a somewhat formal dining experience in an old rustic restaurant ambiance where one may order a wide array of food varieties – from all-day breakfast offerings to rice meals, sandwiches to Ilonggo classics. Going back to the Batchon – the Pancit King enjoyed the bowl of it. Instead of liver and other pork innards, thin slices of lechon were used as the meat component of the dish. I would have liked to have crispy lechon slices on it however the chicharon piece were also in the soup to supply its crunchy texture. I would like to commend their witty use of left-over lechon to be added in this Batchoy creation of theirs, giving their version an incomparable taste advantage by infusing the smoky good flavor of the lechon. Compared to the original batchoy, their broth is a little on the bland side but is actually perfect for my taste. I would imagine it to be having less cholesterol component to it as there may also be no innards boiled in the pork stock they used.